Worth It All
by Aenai Ai
Summary: She couldn't stand seeing him this way. It was wrong, so very wrong. So, Aerith took matters into her own hands. Gaia, the Lifestream, it was worth it all for Cloud. SephxCloud
1. Prologue

Author's Note: So, I've been kinda in a writing slump as of late. Couldn't really get myself to write anything good. So, I sat down and tried this idea out as a sort of writing exercise, to get me going again. Still, let me know what you think and if it's worth continuing.

Also, I'm looking possibly for a beta and am working on the title. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Disclaimer: Characters and settings belong to Square Enix.

Rating: T for now, but will most likely go up.

Worth It All

Prologue

Her heart clenched, breaking a tiny bit more with every second that passed. She could barely stand just sitting back and watching the tragic scene playing out in front of her, but she couldn't look away. It was just wrong, so horribly, insanely wrong to see him this way.

His knees were drawn up to his chest, clutched tightly in a desperate and defensive ball. The last withered blades of grass that remained in the once beautiful garden grew in sickly clumps from the cracked and darkened ground like grotesque ghosts from a memory and time long forgotten. It was painful, too painful for her bleeding heart to not do something for the grief stricken man.

She couldn't—wouldn't—tolerate it any longer.

Forcing herself to leave the huddled figure where he was, she went to take matters into her own hands once and for all.

And Cloud Strife wept on.

—*—*— *—*—

Cloud drew himself more tightly into a ball, trying vainly to block his view. He didn't need to see it though. He knew every detail of the sickeningly barren landscape.

There was no one else, would never be any one else, now. They had all tried so hard, and for what? For this? Gaia was still dying, was on her very death bed at this moment. Nothing that they had done had made any difference in the long run. All of their sacrifices, all of the loved ones that had been lost because of it, everything just didn't matter.

In the end, the human race had been so selfish and stubborn. They had been blinded by their greed and the easy convenience of all that Shinra had offered that Gaia's well-being hadn't registered as the top of their priority lists. No. Unable to change their ways, both they and Gaia had suffered. It came to pass that famine and disease had swept through the planet's population like a wild fire. In a matter of weeks, the human race had been wiped off the face of Gaia. It took only a few years for the irreversible effects of the Mako reactors to take their final toll on the ailing planet. Then, the animals and even the once grand forests fell to scraggly remnants of what they had once been. It took such a short span of time in the end for bustling life on Gaia to come to a stand still.

Cloud cursed both Gaia and Hojo for countless hours after the end had come. Unable to die and unwilling to carry on in solitude, Cloud was all that remained though he wished for death to claim him more fervently than any other ever had. He was alone. There was no comfort to be had from anything. None of his friends. Not even a single flower from Aerith's garden lingered on the dying planet. Mother Gaia was weak, far too sickly, to be of any comfort to him. The Lifestream didn't have any strength to do the impossible and allow him to be amongst the dead.

So he cried. He cried for his loved ones, now long dead. He cried for Gaia and her agonizing death. He cried for all that had once been and now no longer was. He kept crying until no tears would come. Then, he closed his eyes and let the darkness claim him even if he'd only be free from it all for a few precious moments.

The last thought he had before his mind went blank from the massive mental anguish he constantly suffered now, Cloud pictured piercing emerald eyes and long silky strands of silver. It was fuzzy, on the very edges of his memory, like an angel he'd seen in another lifetime.

—*—*— *—*—

In the fading Lifestream, she began to bring her plan's first stages to life. It would take everything she had, everything they all had. It would use up all that remained of the Great Mother's life force. Knowing all this, she didn't hesitate. This was worth all that they had to offer. Of that Aerith was certain.

And then Gaia took one last look at all that had been and what was left and died.

—*—*— *—*—

Author's Note: So, how'd you like it? I'd really like to know so just go on ahead and push that nice review button!


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Alright, I confess. I felt kinda bad about the Prologue being so short and having too much to it. So, I'm going to go ahead and post this now. I have the next bit planned out, but it's still in note form so don't expect a speedy update like this for the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Characters and settings belong to Square Enix.

Rating: T for now, but will most likely go up.

Worth It All

Chapter One

The first thing Cloud noticed as he drifted out of the sleep-like haze was that he was no longer lying on the firm, cracked warmth of solid ground. Instead, he found himself on a lumpy and scratchy thing with thin, itchy blankets tucked in tightly around him. Then the smell hit him. It was that completely recognizable scent that no matter whom you were or where you were from there was no mistaking it for anything else. It was the smell that came only from a hospital. That bleached antiseptically clean smell that clung to your clothes. It was the scent of the dead and the dying, and Cloud found bad memories clawing their way to the front of his mind.

Cloud tensed; every muscle and every sense reaching out to figure out where he was. Opening his eyes ever so slightly so that his blonde lashes hid the vibrant blue beneath, Cloud surveyed his surroundings. Plain, stark white walls closed in on all four sides and sets of beds lined either side of the long rectangular room. There were shiny metallic instruments in metal containers on the counter that ran along the back wall—it was, without a doubt, an infirmary.

The bright fluorescent lights buzzing overhead caused him to almost wince. The _beep, beep_ of a machine to his right could just be made out over the steady breathing of the other patients and the soft murmurs of the nurses on duty. A long plastic, milky white curtain blocked Cloud's view to the left, making the door out of his line of sight. The loudest whispers seemed to be coming from the other side. The blonde strained, focusing all of his awareness on the soft voices.

"—have to know what's wrong. I mean, c'mon, a healthy little chocobo doesn't just start spazzing out for no reason what so ever."

"As I've told you, we'll need to run some more tests. Right now, the diagnosis is inconclusive. The attack causes a momentary lack of oxygen to the brain. We just don't know what kind of effects this may have."

There was a great "humph" and a grumble before the curtain was snatched in a tight grip and yanked back.

Cloud's heart gave a sudden and painful jerk before coming to a screeching halt. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move. All he could do was rasp out one word full of longing, pain and so much more all jumbled together. "Zack."

—*—*— *—*—

Zack could feel the huge, goofy grin split his face when he heard Cloud say his name. He'd been so worried when the nurses had contacted him late last night, telling him that his little Spiky was having seizures or something. He'd went and picked up Seph and rushed right on over from the SOLDIER apartments, thankful that he'd finagled himself onto Cloudy's emergency contact forms. So he wasn't exactly related, Zack didn't care. The brunette was bound and determined to be there for the quiet, big blue eyed chocobo. Like Hel if they thought they'd be able to stop him.

Unable to keep his giddiness inside any more, Zack launched himself on the poor, unsuspecting and bed ridden blonde.

"Aw, I missed my Spiky." Hug. "He can't worry me like that again." Tighter hug. "Nope. Nope. Sephy just about killed me himself cause I was so worried. Yep, he did."

—*—*— *—*—

Cloud couldn't wrap his mind around it. Zack—who was dead and gone, whom he hadn't even allowed himself to think about for too long—was squeezing the life out of him with a monstrous bear hug. Zack, flesh and blood, was warm and _real_. It just couldn't be. This was too cruel. Even with everything that he had survived, Cloud couldn't stand this torture his mind had up and decided to conjure in his desperate need to just not be alone any more.

Zack leaned back, hands still clasping Cloud's slighter shoulders. His grin still in place, the SOLDIER First Class took a deep breath like he was preparing to ramble Cloud's ears off just like he'd always used to—back when he'd been real and alive. The blonde took the opportunity, wrenching himself clear of Zack's grip and making a break out the simple white door to the hallway beyond. He was halfway down the hall before anyone even started hollering after him.

There was only one person, figment of his imagination or really real, that he could always trust to rely on. Aerith, he was on his way.

—*—*— *—*—

Sephiroth fought the urge to yawn for the third time that morning. While the silver haired general could certainly go without sleep far longer than most, he did need to get his rest occasionally. Seeing how Zack had burst into his quarters late last night—only moments after he'd finally been able to drift off, mind you—and none too gently shook the sleepy general awake, it was no wonder as to his exhaustion. After being bombarded with Zack's loud and frantic panic attack concerning some petite blonde cadet Zack had recently befriended, Sephiroth had relented to the SOLDIER's whining and accompanied the other man to the infirmary—in the hopes of possibly shutting him up. Sadly, it hadn't.

Instead, he'd found himself the unwilling victim of Zack's panic stricken questions and rambles. Needless to say, one General Sephiroth wasn't exactly having the kindest of thoughts towards one Lieutenant Zackary Fair. Unless you counted the ones about taping his mouth shut and tying him to an uncomfortable chair all night. Sephiroth considered those to be down right happy thoughts right about now.

He'd been unable to get much of his work done since he had come in that morning. Sephiroth would admit though, only to himself, that it wasn't all the results of sleep deprivation. The silver haired general couldn't help but be a bit bothered by what had happened with the small cadet—Cloud Strife, if his impeccable memory served him. Sephiroth hadn't known what to think when Zack had fallen into a troubled sleep and he'd been left alone with the unconscious blonde. It wasn't something he was used to. He'd never even visited anyone in the infirmary before, not even Zack who was considered his best and only friend. It had been uncomfortable to say the least. The silver haired man just didn't know what to do with himself.

And the look of the young cadet as he slept on. So innocent and delicate tucked into one of the infirmary's stiff white beds. There had been some moments, moments when Cadet Strife had seemed to experience bad dreams. His face would crinkle ever so slightly and his eyes would begin to move furiously beneath their lids. His breath would come faster, sharper than the calm beat it had been before. Then, the small blonde would go perfectly still for only a few heartbeats before he'd return to apparently neutral dreaming. The image just didn't want to leave him and Sephiroth found himself unwilling to even try to force it away. Tightening his grip on the pen, Sephiroth tried once again to get some work finished.

Just then, his PHS went off. How Zack had convinced, or rather conned, him into getting the device, he still didn't know. Nevertheless, Sephiroth pulled out the loudly ringing machine and answered, after all only one person had his number.

"Seph, he's gone," Zack's breathless voice snapped. He could hear the _thump, thump_ of the Lieutenant's running foot steps across the line. Sephiroth didn't need to ask who. There was only one person that Zack was worried about right now, Cloud Strife.

"I'll meet you at my quarters," and he hung up the phone.

This was going to be a long and awfully tiring day, make no mistake about that.

—*—*— *—*—

Author's Note: Please get to clicking that review button and letting me know if you like the direction the story is taking.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I guess it's been so long since I've actually wanted to write something, that I just can't make myself stop for too long. Still, I will slow down. It's just the high of writing again.

Disclaimer: Characters and settings belong to Square Enix.

Rating: T for now, but will go up.

Worth It All

Chapter Two

Okay, so Cloud really had no idea how he was going to get out of the Shinra compound. Well, at least not a very good one. He only had the faintest of memories, foggy and not as accurate as he'd have liked, of the training facilities. But the blonde was anything if stubborn and was determined to get down under the plate. Cloud would find the stairs, get to an exit and filch a ticket to under the plate. Simple enough, really.

Peaking around a corner, his blue eyes could just make out the entrance to the stairwell—the easiest way out of this place for sure. People were walking about like business as usual, but interspersed Cloud had noticed a few that weren't quite right. They were SOLDIERs, rather obvious when they were placed amongst plain cadets that weren't anywhere near their level. Cloud had had a few close calls with some of them since his mad dash from the infirmary. It hadn't taken long for whoever to rally the troops for an all out man hunt and the little blonde wasn't about to find out what his nightmare planned if he got caught.

He'd slunk past patrols of them, sticking to the shadows. He'd even managed nicked some clothes that he had found in a bunker that he'd had to duck into to avoid being seen. A feat that Yuffie would have been oh-so-proud that he'd managed to accomplish on his own. Able to blend in a bit better now that he was dressed more closely to a cadet, Cloud hadn't had as much difficulty making it out of the secure area of the sick bay levels. Now, the blonde found himself in the dormitory like floors of the cadets. If he could just sneak past the two SOLDIERs roaming the hallway, he'd be home free…or at least have made it to the stairwell.

Cloud pulled himself back against the wall as one of the buff SOLDIERs looked his way while scanning the crowded hallway. Taking a deep breath and tugging his hat a bit lower, the slight blonde steeled his nerves and slipped in amongst the throng of people. He kept his head down, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and keeping his shoulders from tensing as the walked right past the closest SOLDIER. Every second ticked by, seeming to stretch on and on. With every breath, Cloud felt like he was going to be caught, grabbed by one of the SOLDIERs and find himself unable to escape. Still staying as steady as he could, Cloud continued his nonchalant stride and in a matter of a few heart pounding seconds he'd ducked through the heavy door and into the stairwell.

He took a few precious seconds to let his heart steady itself before he started down the stairs, his footsteps as quiet as he possibly could make them. Briefly, a memory surfaced. He'd run up the same stairs before, during that lifetime he'd lived so long ago. It had been different then; he'd wanted to get in to get some answers. Now, he wanted out, knowing he'd get them if he did. They had still been with him then. Cloud shook his head and violently shoved the painful memories aside. Now wasn't the time to think about his past. No, now was the time to be sneaking out of the Shinra building and getting to Aerith as quickly as he could.

This building wasn't as tall his spotty memory of it recalled. It only took him a few harrowing minutes to reach the ground level. The open room beyond the door was full of people coming and going. The receptionists' desk was in the center and several women answered telephones and directed guests. It was more like an office building's foyer than the one that housed the cadets, but Cloud supposed that was because of the top levels being those that belonged to some of the smaller Shinra departments. His sapphire eyes scanned the mass of people headed this way and that. It didn't appear that any SOLDIERs had made it down to this level in their search yet. Maybe they thought that he just wouldn't make it this far, Cloud didn't know and didn't really care to find out.

Seeing no other choice, Cloud stepped out of the doorway and made a bee line for freedom.

—*—*— *—*—

"What do you mean you saw my chocobo and didn't get him!?" Zack all but screeched into his PHS.

Sephiroth had met up with him on a few minutes after their brief conversation that morning and had organized a SOLDIER powered search of the cadet building. Apparently, some of the Thirds weren't on Zackary's good list right now having managed to let Cloud Strife slip right through their fingers. Imagine that? The silver haired man could just make out some pathetic excuse about how the Third hadn't realized it was who they were out looking for until the little blonde had disappeared.

The general didn't care though. The Thirds were stationed several floors below them. That just confirmed Zack's fears. The sick cadet was trying to leave. Leave for where, not even the brunette SOLDIER could say. But there were no more doubts about where he'd been headed at least.

Striding off in the direction of the elevators to get to the ground level, Sephiroth knew that Zack would follow him.

"If something bad happens to my Spiky, by Shiva, it'll be your ass!" snapped the angry and worried First Class before hanging up the PHS. He scrambled into the little metal box with the silver haired man and down they sped to the first floor.

It only took a matter of minutes, but Sephiroth was very close to murdering the other man. Between his fidgeting and constantly checking his PHS's clock, the tall general was quickly loosing his patience. The doors opened just in time to save the unsuspecting brunette from an untimely demise.

Zack bounded ahead of him, waltzing right on up to one of the receptionists.

"Have you seen this chocobo?" he demanded, shoving a picture of Cloud right into the robust woman's face. She blinked, quirking an eyebrow before focusing in on the photograph.

"Hmmm." The woman tilted her head to the side, her eyes sliding to the silver haired general that stood close by. "Maybe. Can't say for sure."

Sephiroth was tempted to rub his temple. He could just feel the headache coming on, laughing manically at the misery it'd cause. Why the stupid women in this place couldn't just answer a question without trying to flirt with him was beyond Sephiroth's understanding.

"Either you have or you have not," came Sephiroth's deep, smooth voice.

She narrowed her eyes but answered just as he knew she would. "Walked out the door like five minutes ago. Why? He do something, hun?" This last was directed at Zack who wasn't paying her any attention.

The brunette shared a look with the silver haired general. Big violet colored eyes just looked at him. Zack called it his "puppy dog look." Angeal had smirked at that, but all of them had a consensus that Zack's "puppy dog look" worked too well for their liking. Well, he had anticipated this to be a long, long day.

Pulling out his own PHS, Sephiroth dialed a number.

"Yes?" came the dignified answer.

"Tseng, I need you to do me a favor." Oh, how he hated owing the Turks.

—*—*— *—*—

It was a blur to Cloud—the sneaking down the street above the plate to the rail station. He couldn't even remember pinching a ticket. The ride itself had been nearly unbearable. He couldn't stand riding in moving vehicles. All that motion sickness wasn't something he enjoyed. Still, at least it wasn't as bad as flying. Now that was horrible.

The train hadn't taken too long to go from above to below. It had whipped around the tracks and descended at fairly quick speed. Cloud had still felt like he'd be found out at any second. The speed of the ride didn't change that. It had felt like every passenger was looking at him and that any one of them was going to report him as soon as he looked the other way. Cloud was only too happy to get off.

The Slums—they were so much easier to be in. He could remember them. Could remember being here with her and the others. It wasn't so hard to find his way amongst the people down here. Everyone was just trying to survive. He knew these people so much better. Understood them in a way that he couldn't understand the ones in the cadet training facility. At least he could actually remember some people from the Slums. He hadn't really the foggiest idea about most of the cadets and SOLDIERs he'd passed on his way out. And yeah, there was a little bit of danger here, but Cloud didn't feel that he had to worry. He had nothing to steal after all. Smirking mentally to himself, Cloud merged with the other Slum-goers and head out for Aerith's church.

—*—*— *—*—

"Zackary, calm down," the veiled threat of what would happen to him if he didn't hung in the air between the two men. The search had begun anew out in the open and Zack's increasing worry wasn't helping Sephiroth's migraine.

"But, he's just a little chocobo out in the big mean world," the SOLDIER First Class wailed not for the first time.

Before Zack could continue on with his woe-is-poor-Cloudy ramble, Kunsel walked up. Cocking an eyebrow at the brunette's hair pulling and pouting, the other man turned toward his general.

"We've got a report that a young man matching Strife's description was seen heading beneath the plate. An advanced team has already been sent down to check it out."

"Good. Keep us informed," managed the silver haired man.

"Understood." Kunsel gave Zack one last look before heading back towards his search group.

Sephiroth didn't know why so many SOLDIERs had responded when he had asked for some assistance to look for Zack's young friend. He supposed it was because of the SOLDIER First Class being so likeable. The others just couldn't help wanting to help Zack when they knew that he'd do whatever he could for them, no questions asked. It was just how Zack was. Sephiroth also supposed it had something to do with Zack turning his evil "puppy dog pout" on the room full of them, but that was just his theory.

Turning back to the frantic brunette beside him, he said, "Come along, Zackary. We're headed under the plate."

"Think we'll find him soon? I mean, the Slums aren't the safest of places." His worry was almost sickening to Sephiroth. Why worry so much? They were already doing all that they could. There was just no logic to it. He guessed that's what made him so different from Zack though—him being more logical and Zack just going with the flow of his emotions, riding it all out.

"I'm sure we will." How hard could it be with almost every SOLDIER available on the hunt?

Zack gave a half hearted grin. "Yeah. We will."

—*—*— *—*—

Down beneath the plate, deep in the Slums stood a wooden church. In the center of the church where the floor had been destroyed and the patch of dirt beneath was revealed, was a small kept garden with flowing in full bloom. There were wooden pews that hadn't been used in years and the detailed stained glass let in a few shafts of beautifully colored lights.

Bent over and tending to the flowers that grew where none really should have been able to was a young woman with long chestnut colored hair pulled back in a pony tail by a pink bow. Suddenly, she rose, dusting her dirt covered hand on her work apron. A small smile played on her lips as she turned towards the large double doors. A slight creak echoed through the empty church as one of the doors opened and a young man with spiky blonde hair hesitantly stepped in.

Her smile grew and her deep green eyes sparkled with joy. "Welcome, Cloud."

—*—*— *—*—

Author's Note: I tried to move things along at a nicer pace which is why this chapter turned out to be much longer than I had planned. Send me a lovely review and let me know how I did. I'll try to update when I can!


	4. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Okay! I kinda went off on a tangent during the explanation. But I didn't want to take it out. I ended up liking it…kinda. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: Characters and settings belong to Square Enix.

Rating: T for now, but will go up.

Worth It All

Chapter Three

Cloud could only stand there looking at her, taking in the sight of Aerith smudged with dirt and seeming so real. She had one of her gentle, knowing little smiles tugging at the corners of her mouth. Cloud's heart gave a shuddering thud. It had been much too long since he'd seen her in her calming and matronly demeanor, felt her squeeze his hand tight with things seemed to get too tough, and heard her reassuring voice say exactly what he needed to hear.

The blonde man steadied his scattering thoughts and uneven breathing as best he could before even making an attempt at approaching the smiling brunette woman standing calmly in front of him. Coming to a stop just an arm's length from the Cetra woman, Cloud hesitated. What was he supposed to say? She obviously knew who he was—what he had done and what he'd been unable to stop from happening—but did he just come right out and say it?

"I'm sorry." The words tumbled out of his mouth without his permission. The guilt, the shear weight of her death, was a constant anguish. If he'd just been a bit stronger, if he'd been just a bit quicker, if he'd just—

"Me too."

Electric blue eyes blinked in confusion. What did she, a woman who had given her life to save them all with her wish made on Holy, have to apologize for?

Her features softened a little more and she let out a small humorless sound. "We've asked for so much of you, Cloud. Not once have you asked for anything more than an end to it all. We have so much more to be sorry for than you."

Cloud wanted to argue with Aerith, point out that he'd been pretty selfish sometimes and done a few things well worth repenting for. Her sad green eyes stilled his ready reply.

"Come. You can help me pick flowers to bring to sell today." She took him by the arm, her soft grip leading him to her fragrant garden with ease. He wouldn't resist her. If Aerith absurdly wanted him to help her pick flowers at a moment like this, then by Shiva, he would. For this short moment of comfort with her, Cloud would do this.

Her long brunette hair had slipped over her shoulder when she'd knelt in the well tended garden. Aerith had an old pair of scissors clutched in one of her long fingered and delicate looking hands. With practiced ease, the Cetra snipped a few stems, collecting them in her free hand before continuing on with her selection. Looking around, Cloud spotted the worn wicker basket she always used. Snatching it up, he knelt beside her. Without a single glance in his direction, Aerith set the clipped flowers in the basket and resumed her cutting.

"Did you know, Cloud, that sometimes you have to clip off the blossoms before they're ready to go to see any more bloom," Aerith asked suddenly, breaking the relatively easy silence that the two of them had fallen into.

Cloud shook his head, not finding himself quite ready to talk to her just yet.

"When you do, the flower uses everything it has to make another blossom, fighting for the need to grow seeds for the next season."

The blonde gave a soft "hum" to show that he was listening.

"It's one of Mother Gaia's many ways of offering life a second chance."

She stopped then, setting the scissors down in her lap and turning to face him full on. Her steady gaze quieted the growing uncertainty and fear.

"Gaia so loves her creations that she is willing to try again and again for their sakes. It is her love of all that she has made that drives her to give them second chances. These chances are opportunities to reach through the adversities to something fantastical and extraordinary. In spite of the hardships we face, her love of us remains to give us this possibility of something more. She reminds us with her love, that there will be light after we manage to make it through all of the dark and difficult times."

Miserable, emerald eyes fell, breaking their steady gaze.

"But, you Cloud, didn't get gifted a second chance like the rest of us. Yours was thrown to the wayside in The Great Mother's struggle for survival."

Aerith paused, nibbling on her bottom lip thoughtfully. Pain was sharp in her deep green eyes. It hurt Cloud just to see it there, on her face, where it should never have been.

"I'm used to it—the hardships. It's alright," whispered Cloud, barely loud enough to be heard in the near silence of the old church.

"Oh, Cloud," she sighed, wrapping her arms around shoulders that had been made to bear so many heavy burdens. "Gaia never wants to leave even a single one of her creations, her children, behind without giving an opportunity to change for the better." Cloud heard Aerith sniffle against him. "We can't—we just can't leave you of all of us in such pain when we have the ability to offer you so much more wondrous things." She tightened her grip on the slight blonde. "So, I—we—made you a gift, something especially just for you."

"A gift." Cloud pulled back, his brows furrowed in adorable puzzlement. What did she mean by "gift"?

"Cloud," Aerith gave him another of her sweetly understanding and wise smiles, "this is your gift." She spread her arms wide, indicating everything and nothing at the same time. "We've given you this, Cloud—a new beginning. It's our way of letting you have a chance to get back that glow in your eyes that we've taken away from you. A chance to let you have all of the things that your heart no longer lets itself desire." A small frown showed her displeasure at the mere idea that Cloud didn't let himself want anything.

"A second chance…" Cloud trailed off, his thoughts running rampant and in a thousand different directions. He had an opportunity to do it all over again. That's what Aerith was saying, wasn't it? Could he really have another go to change things, make them turn out for the better instead of the horrific tragedy that he remembered? The blonde was feeling a little overwhelmed at the implications of it all.

Did this mean that maybe they didn't all have to die? Zack, Aerith, Tifa and everyone else that had helped him in his struggle to save Gaia. Did they now have a chance at an actual future, of a life?

Then it really hit him. "This is real? Not some dream or nightmare I've thought up myself?" He had to hear it. He had to hear her say it out loud.

"Yes, Cloud. It's real." Her eyes danced with well meant humor at the astonished and open mouthed look the blonde gave her. "Do with it what you will. That's what our Great Mother wants."

Aerith reached up, brushing a few tears that had fallen, unawares, from Cloud's sapphire eyes.

"You should go now, Cloud," she said as gently as she could, though her voice was solemn. "This me," she placed her hand over her still beating heart, a fact Cloud was still having trouble with," doesn't know you yet." The long haired woman let out an amused laugh as comprehension dawned on the slight blonde.

"Wait, so that would make me…" Cloud fell silent, thinking it over in his muddled memories.

"Sixteen," Aerith oh-so-helpfully supplied.

"I'm one hundred forty-three," he mumbled back a bit breathlessly.

"No," the Cetra said like a school teacher talks to her uncomprehending pupil, "you're sixteen." Cloud could tell that she was fighting hard not to smile and laugh outright. "Get going," she said in a tone that she'd probably meant to sound commanding but instead cracked with mirth. "Dilly-dally shilly-shally, ya' know?

Aerith gave him a cheery wink before picking up her full basket and practically skipping out the large wooden double doors.

Cloud blinked owlishly after her. He wasn't sure how long he sat in silence, not moving in the slightest, before he got up and started towards the doors too.

—*—*— *—*—

Zack was close to moping. Okay; Zack would admit it to himself at least that he was pouting a pout that would put a two year old to shame. It was well past midday and even as optimistic as the SOLDIER First Class typically was, he was well aware of Sephiroth's growing desire to just call it quits. There hadn't been any new sightings since the discovery that Cloudy had somehow managed to get all the way to the slums.

His poor little chocobo. Spiky was all lost and confused (according to what the otherwise useless nurse had told him). The brunette just wanted to find him. He had this feeling about the little blonde, like he was somehow important. It's what had first drawn him to the rather unremarkable cadet.

He'd been walking past some random training room, skipping out on a huge stack of paperwork that Seph was just insane in thinking he'd do, when he'd seen Cloud. The cadets had been working through a kata to loosen up before sword practice and there was the little chocobo, shockingly bright spikes, enormous baby blues and all. The little cadet had just this thing about him; Zack wasn't sure what to call it that reeled him in, hook, line and sinker. The SOLDIER First Class had suddenly found himself interrupting the class, having stumbled in for a closer look.

From that moment on, Zack had been positive that Cloud Strife (as he'd later identified that cadet) would be his little chocobo. Cloud needed him, he'd reasoned to himself and Sephiroth in the beginning. As slight of build as he was, Spiky was just asking to be picked on. Zack would make sure that nothing like that happened.

Seph thought him crazy (well, he always thought that the brunette was a bit crazy) to have become too attached to some little cadet. Zack didn't think so. It had something to do with those big blue eyes and innocence that just needed a big puppy to protect (Gaia above, he hoped Angeal never heard that thought. He'd never live it down.). So, over the few months that had passed, Zackary Fair had taken on the rather uncharacteristically serious role of mentor and elder brother figure of one Cadet Cloud Strife.

And he'd failed.

Sephiroth and he had returned late from a mission so he hadn't gone to check in with the little blonde and look what breaking tradition had gotten him into. Zack vowed to never deviate from what worked again! Well, for the most part anyway. The brunette laughed at the absurdity of his own thoughts.

Rounding yet another corner in his search, Zack ran smack dab into someone else. On sheer instinct, his hands shot out to steady the other person. Making sure that they were able to stand on their own, Zack slowly let go and stepped back.

"Oops. Sorry. Kinda got…" It was a miracle that no one who knew the SOLDIER First Class had the opportunity to witness. For the first time in his life, Zack was at a loss for words.

The person, now known to be young lady, whom stood in front of him, was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. With long chestnut hair pulled back by a pink bow and wide and innocent emerald eyes that rivaled Seph's in beauty, the woman before him was breathtaking. She had his kind and gentle feeling about her that just soothed Zack's frayed nerves without trying. And her smile!

"It's alright. No harm done." Oh what Zack would give to see her smile like that. The brunette had to force himself to focus on what she was saying instead of trying to come up with ways to make her smile again. "You must be in a hurry though."

"Um..." Oh yeah, Spiky! "My friend," Zack gushed in a rushed and loud voice, "is lost down here somewhere and we're trying to find him."

A frown tugged down her smile for a split second before, "What does this friend look like? I've been about for a while," she held up a basket of flowers like that explained what she'd been doing, "maybe I've seen something that could help."

"Well, he looks like a baby chocobo, all big baby blues and yellow spikes. But he's little. And a person."

She gave a little laugh, her hand blocking her smile partially from his view. "I think I've seen someone like that."

"Really!?"

The nameless chestnut haired woman nodded.

"Where!? You have to tell me where." Zack couldn't help shaking her just a little.

"In the church." She pointed over the tops of the buildings surrounding them to the roof top that just barely towered over all the rest in the slums. It looked old and possibly made of wood.

"Thanks!" Zack turned, starting to sprint off to grab Sephiroth so they could go look at the church. He slowed and turned, looking over his shoulder at the young lady who stood where he'd left her. "I'm Zack." He gave a goofy grin.

"Aerith." She waved and melted back into the bustling crowds.

—*—*— *—*—

Author's Note: Please send me a nice review and let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 4

Author's Note: First, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed. It really does make an author's day to know that her work's being loved. Also, just a heads up about this chapter: I'm trying to flesh out the characters a bit. I'm interested in knowing how you think I did with it. It's something I'm working on.

Disclaimer: Characters and settings belong to Square Enix.

Rating: T for now, but will go up.

Worth It All

Chapter Four

Sephiroth wasn't quite sure how Zack always seemed to manage to con him into doing the most outlandish things. Once, Zackary had finagled him into wearing a bright pink button up to work. The tall man still couldn't remember what the brunette had done or said to get him into the horrid looking shirt, but he'd ended up wearing it all day nonetheless.

And today, he'd put together a full scale SOLDIER search for a little blonde cadet when he hadn't even had a moment's rest. Zack, Sephiroth knew, needed to take it easy with the way the mission they'd been on had ended up panning out with an admittedly difficult battle. Even though Zack was surely in pain from the barely Cured injuries he'd sustained, the brunette hadn't taken a break in looking along with everyone else.

To top it all of, Sephiroth was now being dragged through the slums by the frantic SOLDIER First Class. The brunette had suddenly snatched his hand and attached himself like a leach. The silver haired general hadn't tried too hard to get his hand back though. In truth, he didn't care all that much over the bizarre way that this day was currently shaping out to be. He was too tired. Besides, if you hung around a particular SOLDIER First Class long enough, it was just something that you got used to.

The silver haired man would admit to himself that he was anxious to find the young blonde too. Certainly not as much as Zack, but the general found himself wanting to find him safe and sound anyway. He supposed it had something to do with the mystery that as of late seemed to be growing around Cadet Cloud Strife. Sephiroth wanted to know how such innocence could be shattered by a nightmare into the look of a man who had been through too much. Sephiroth wanted to know what would cause a young man to run from the aid of skilled professionals after suffering seizures. Sephiroth wanted to know why he couldn't let one Cloud Strife go.

There was just something about the young cadet that Sephiroth couldn't get out of his head. In all honesty, the silver haired man couldn't remember when a single person had captured his attention so well. The worst part of it was that Sephiroth couldn't even put a finger on the "why." There was just something about the young man that made the tall general want to know him. Maybe it was the innocence or the pained looks dredged up by nightmares. In the end, the general of Shinra Inc found himself wanting to understand this strange little creature that Zack taken to.

Somehow, the silver haired man wanted to blame his good friend. From all of his ramblings, Sephiroth never would have guessed that the blonde had suffered enough to have nightmares like the ones he'd witnessed in the infirmary. He also would not have thought Cloud to be someone so innocent and pure in appearance. If Zack hadn't introduced Cloud into his life, then Sephiroth wouldn't have this puzzle on his hands—a puzzle concerning the apparent insanity and illness that had sprung up over night, so to speak, in an otherwise healthy youth. To the tall silver haired man, a puzzle like Cloud Strife was something he had to figure out.

Stifling the sigh that wanted to escape, the taller man focused on just where the fumbling brunette was taking him. It appeared to be a dilapidated building, wooden and tall. The building had large double doors that were carved with delicate images depicting what he supposed was the Cetra and the Lifestream eons ago. There were stained glass windows, some with smashed out panes, that caught the ugly light of Midgar and somehow made it more aesthetic. It was a church, Sephiroth realized. An old church in the middle of the slums.

Zack released his hand, coming to an abrupt stop. Sephiroth had to take a quick step to the side to avoid running into the other man. Giving the First Class a questioning look, the silver haired general noticed that Zack was focused on something else. Flicking his glowing emerald eyes back to the church, he noticed the slight figure that had just emerged. There was no mistaking the shock of spiky golden hair or the sapphire pools. Cloud Strife had just walked out of this rundown church, his hand still on the edge of the door.

Seeing as Zack didn't seem like he'd be making a move towards the cadet, Sephiroth took it upon himself and began to approach the young man.

—*—*— *—*—

Cloud sucked in a sharp breath. It was Sephiroth, alive and seemingly sane if Zack's company was anything to go by. His sharp green eyes were just as Cloud always remembered them to be in his dreams—slitted like a cat's and glowing ever so slightly. His long silver hair shifted with step that used feline grace and predatory prowess.

The blonde could remember a time when the general had been his idol, the man that he wanted to be and stand beside. It had been his goal upon joining up with the military. Those days seemed so long ago, and maybe they were, but right now, they were the present. That thought was just a bit frightening to Cloud. The slight cadet didn't know if the two of them had ever had a conversation before the mission that ended it all. This was new ground, ground that felt more like quicksand. Cloud's heart beat faster with every step Sephiroth took.

"You've worried you dear mother, little chocobo." What? What did Sephiroth—the smooth voiced general who was feared by millions—just say to him? Cloud could only blink and look blankly up into the depths of emerald holding him in place.

"Oi!" Zack bellowed, snapping out of whatever had kept him from running up to the youth like Cloud had anticipated. "He's my chocobo!" The brunette rushed up and wrapped his arms around the blonde, squeezing tightly.

"And I'm a good mommy-brother to my little Spiky," the SOLDIER First Class continued, sticking his tongue out.

"And that's how you lost him?" Sephiroth cocked an elegant silver eyebrow.

"Didn't loose him. He ran away."

"And that's so much better?" the general gave a mock sigh before looking back at the slight cadet and giving a brief smile.

Cloud had to have been in some alter universe or something, not the past. There was just no way that Sephiroth, as in the Sephiroth, was teasing Zack. It just wasn't possible. Sephiroth had a sense of humor? And Sephiroth had smiled at him! This wasn't happening; it just couldn't be, could it?

"I'm not a chocobo," Cloud was horrified to hear himself say. Why was he finding himself just letting words slip right out of his mouth like that? It wasn't like him.

The silver haired man smirked. "Is that so, Cadet?" His voice was as rich and smooth. Not full of rage and insanity like before. There was playful warmth to it. And it told him that the tall man was teasing. Cloud supposed the open quality was because he was at ease with Zack and an ill and obviously not quite all there cadet. It was a pleasant change to what he was used to, Cloud realized.

"Come on, my Spiky. Gotta get you back to those crazy nurses. Swear they were going nuts over their sweetheart going missing. Blamed it all on me, of course." Zack steered him away from Aerith's church while chattering away. It felt so normal. It was something that Cloud had missed so terribly about Zack—his ability to calm the blonde down during any situation.

Cloud stumbled a step or two, trying to keep his tired legs up with Zack's longer stride. He'd had a long day, walked pretty far and this body was just exhausted. Cloud thought, sleepily, maybe it had something to do with his spirit coming back in time or whatever Gaia had done to him.

"Zackary," Sephiroth's rich voice said.

"What?" asked the SOLDIER First Class, having been interrupted in telling Cloud about the search that they'd put together.

Blue eyes noticed a hand gesturing towards him a split second before his lids closed and he couldn't find the desire to open them back up.

"Oh," came Zack's voice from beside him. "Um, I'm still recovering from the mission and all…"

Cloud felt Zack move away and he tried to reach out. His tired limbs did little more that fumble with thin air before falling back to his sides. Then, warm hands took a hold of him and he was picked up, cradled against a broad muscled chest.

The smell of leather, sweat and a musky undertone lulled Cloud into a deep and restful sleep.

—*—*— *—*—

Zack smiled to himself, a huge face splitting grin. Sephiroth was holding Cloud like he'd break any second, excuse him if he thought it was just a teensy bit funny. After all, it wasn't everyday that the famed general was seen carrying around a chocobo boy, now was it?

When he'd seen Cloud come out of the church, Zack's heart had stopped its frantic beating and slowed down. It was such a relief to see him all in one piece and seemingly fine. Well, as fine as a kid can be after having unexplained seizures. Still, Zack couldn't help but embrace the calm feeling that overcame him at the sight of the blonde. Everything was going to be fine.

And the look on Seph's face. It was different and not something that Zack was used to seeing on the mostly serious general. He'd seemed so content. The SOLDIER First Class realized suddenly, that the other man had been worried too. His shoulders and muscles had relaxed at seeing the young blonde unharmed. Zack stifled a giggle. And now Sephiroth was holding that little blondie. He wasn't sure what was going on with the silver haired man, but far be it from him to stop him—so long as Zack supervised of course.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Zack continued to lead the way back to the train station. He'd already used Seph's PHS to let the other SOLDIERs know that the little chocobo had been found and the three of them were headed back. It hadn't taken long for the two warriors to fall into a rather peaceful silence.

Now that his panic was gone, the brunette thought back to the gorgeous young woman who'd saved the day. Aerith. Zack smirked. He'd be making a return trip to the slums, that was for sure. If he had any chance of catching that little beauty again, he'd happily come everyday.

Nodding to himself, Zack chanced a quick glance at Sephiroth with his precious bundle of Cloud and couldn't imagine how this day could end any better.

—*—*— *—*—

Author's Note: Um…I'm pretty sure by now that you all know that I'd love to hear your thoughts with a lovely review.


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